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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the body for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the players after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football authority restated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil victory over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also penalized $2,500.

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Stance on Document Falsification

"Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a form of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it noted.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's allegations in a statement on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the statement declared.

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Official Reactions

South-east Asian nations have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, the official, said in a statement that "FAM needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from FIFA."

"Fans are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she added.

Current Situation and Forthcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty surrounding the squad's composition, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing Laos on Thursday.